


Some Parts Remain

by brinshannara



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Not quite Sanvers but not quite not Sanvers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24280249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brinshannara/pseuds/brinshannara
Summary: Set in Supergirl Season 6ish, Maggie and her girlfriend await news at the bar.
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Maggie Sawyer/Original Character(s)
Comments: 41
Kudos: 95





	Some Parts Remain

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a tweet today that hit me right in the feels.
> 
> https://twitter.com/brinshannara/status/1262831408680177667
> 
> For posterity, the tweet had an image in it that read:
> 
> _My PIN number to this day is my second grade best friends birthday. There are people I don't talk to anymore whose families are still in my prayers. There are shirts I wear to bed from exes of 8 years ago who are married now with kids. And I haven't found a macaroni salad recipe better than my college boyfriend's mom's. Our lives are made up of so many people and when people become parts of our lives, some parts remain long after they leave. And in the same exact way, it's comforting to know there are so many lives you're still a part of that you have no idea about._
> 
> So I had to write a Maggie one-shot.

The bar was crowded and loud, packed with people, music blaring. Maggie pulled her phone out of her pocket, for the third time, to make sure she hadn't missed the call she was expecting from her lieutenant. He'd have the results of her exam for her.

"Why on Earth do you still have that old phone?" Her girlfriend's smile took most of the sting out of the jab as she tucked her long, blonde hair behind an ear.

Maggie shrugged, as she usually did when Carolina teased her about being ancient and hanging on to old things. "It works." Part of it was certainly that it still worked and part of it was that she disliked change. A lot. She'd experienced too much of it to be a fan.

"You know that model is like, seven years old. Why not just turn it in for a newer model?"

"Hey, the operating system still updates and it still does everything I need it to do." She quirked a grin and looked over at her. "Are you saying you're gonna get rid of me when I get too old for you?"

Carolina flushed, her face reddening quickly. "No, Mags, of course not. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You tease me about being old and cranky, I tease you about being a young whippersnapper. It works." She held up her phone. "Just like my phone." She grinned.

Carolina laughed. "Point taken."

Maggie glanced at the phone again. "I'm going to run to the washroom," she said. "Will you answer if it's work?"

"Sure."

Maggie tapped in her passcode to unlock the device and left it on the table. "If it's the lieutenant, uh, stall. I'll be right back."

"I can't believe it's so old you have to use a  _ code _ !" Carolina called after her.

As Maggie waited in line to use the facilities, her mind wandered. She and Carolina had been dating nearly a year. Despite Carolina being just 27, rather than nearing her mid-thirties, like Maggie, the other woman was somehow mature enough for her. There was just something about her that was stable, that was calm, despite the age difference. They were both in a similar phase of life -- working adults, progressing in their careers. They'd both been out for a long while, so there was none of that "fresh off the boat" stuff to deal with. And, like Maggie, Carolina didn't want kids.

After things had  _ ended _ , Maggie had dated a bit here and there, and had been upfront about not wanting children with everyone she dated, on the very first date. She didn't just blurt it out, but would guide the conversations towards where they saw each other in five, ten years, and she was very careful to say, very clearly, that she did not see herself as a mom.

She'd learned her lesson the hard way and had vowed never to get so emotionally involved again with someone who needed to have kids. So she'd learned to set expectations right at the outset. No point in dating someone who  _ did  _ want to be a mom, after all.

She came back to the table after using the washroom and sat back down.

"Did anyone call or text?"

Carolina shook her head. "Good thing, too, it locked on me." She slid the phone back over to Maggie. "What's your passcode?"

She looked up at her. "8789. Why?"

Her girlfriend shrugged. "Just curious." She thought about it. "So, okay, 87 for your birth year, of course," she said, tapping a finger against the table, in thought. "August 9? September 8? What's the 89 for?"

Unbidden, a flood of memories crashed over Maggie.

_ They had been laying in bed, limbs tangled together, fingers entwined, sweaty and hot. _

_ "Danvers, come on, when's your birthday? Mine's in March." _

_ "January," she'd said, finally. _

_ "And you didn't say anything!?" _

_ "Not really big into parties, not without… uh, my dad." _

Oh.  _ "I'm sorry, Alex," she'd said, followed by a kiss on her cheek. "How old did you turn?" _

_ "28." _

_ Maggie had smiled. "I had no idea you were younger than me." _

_ Alex had raised her eyebrows. "You're older than me?" _

_ "Yup. Turning the big 3-0 in March." _

_ "We'll have to throw you a big party, then." _

_ Maggie had rolled her eyes, but had been secretly pleased that finally, someone would  _ want _ to throw her a big party. _

_ *** _

_ "What's your code?" Alex had asked, teasingly. _

_ "Why? You wanna snoop through my incredibly boring work emails and ferret that information back to the DEO?" _

_ "Maybe," Alex had giggled. _

_ "1987." _

_ Alex had looked at her, agog. "Are you serious?" _

_ "What?" _

_ "Your  _ birth year _?" She'd scoffed. "That's like, the most insecure password after 1234." She'd shaken her head. "Do you  _ know _ what Winn would do to you for this?" _

_ She'd shrugged, and taken a bite of her bagel. "I won't forget it." It was true. It was a number that would always be hers, that wouldn't bring up bad memories or have bad associations. 1987 was hers. Her family wasn't part of it, Emily wasn't part of it. It was a number, just for her. _

_ Alex had narrowed her eyes at her and grabbed the phone. _

_ "Hey! What are you doing?" _

_ "Changing it." _

_ "To what?" _

_ "To something else you'll never forget." Satisfied, she'd handed the phone back to her. _

_ "What, now I'm supposed to guess my own phone code? Danvers, there's like, ten thousand possibilities!" _

_ Alex had just smiled mysteriously. _

_ "Don't I even get a hint?" _

_ Alex had laughed. "Fine. Us. That's your hint." _

_ Maggie had spent the next twenty minutes getting intermittently locked out of her phone. "Alex, this isn't funny. I have to go to work in a minute." _

_ "What have you tried?" _

_ "The date we first met, 1024. The date you came out to me, the date you first kissed me, the date I first kissed you, the date I first spent the night, the date you proposed to me, our wedding date…" _

_ "Be more literal. Us." _

_ Maggie had blinked. "ADMS? MSAD?" She'd stared dumbly at her phone. _

_ "8789." _

_ Maggie had smiled, understanding the reference to their birth years immediately. "8789. I love it. I love you." _

_ "I love you, too. And now you'll never forget me." _

_ "I don't need a phone code to remind me of you," Maggie had grinned. _

_ "Yeah, but now you'll  _ really _ never forget me." _

"Mags?" Carolina looked over at her. "Where'd you go?"

She swallowed. "Sorry, uh… memories."

Carolina paused. "Oh. Oh, was it… like, your dad? Your mom? You know what? Never mind. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

Maggie forced a smile. "No, it wasn't them. It was…" She exhaled. "Someone else."

"Emily?" She shook her head. "No, it's, uh, your ex-fiancée. Right?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she breathed. "Do you, um, do you want me to change it? I mean, I'd understand."

Carolina smiled at her, kindly. "Mags, if 8789 means something to you, it's fine."

"Yeah?"

"Who you are today is due, in part, to having been with her. To having experienced those highs and those lows. You're a different person now than you were then." She reached out and squeezed Maggie's hand. "We are the sum of our experiences. Our lives are just… made up of so many people, you know? And sometimes, some parts remain with us. And if you want a tiny part of that particular experience to remain with you as your phone's passcode, that's okay."

Maggie shook her head. "There you go again."

"What?"

"Being mature beyond even  _ my _ years."

"I'm an old soul, Mags. And, like I said, you're a different person, now. And so is she."

Maggie nodded and nearly jumped out of her seat as her phone started ringing and vibrating on the table in front of her. It was her lieutenant.

"Sawyer," she said, answering.

Carolina's face was hopeful, her hand gripping Maggie's tightly.

"Thank you, lieutenant," she said. "I appreciate your letting me know."

She hung up and smiled. "You're right, you know," she said.

"Well?"

"I was a different person then. I was Detective Sawyer. And now? Now I'm Lieutenant Sawyer."

Carolina leaned in and kissed her gently before pulling her into a hug. "I'm so proud of you," she said. She pulled back. "Darla! Two glasses of your best bubbly!"

That night, before going to bed, Maggie tapped her phone's settings and stared at the configuration panel. Quickly, before she could change her mind, she changed her lock code to that day's date. 0519. Forever the day she had been promoted to lieutenant. Emboldened by the change, she flipped through her favourite contacts and her thumb hovered over a familiar name.

She swallowed. And then Carolina's words came back to her. 

_ Some parts remain. _

Maggie turned off her phone, plugged it in, got into bed and turned out the light. Every experience had led to her being here, now, proudly sporting the title of a lieutenant in the National City Police Department. And it was okay if some parts remained.


End file.
